A Cows Life

Every day begins early for a cow at Pleasant View Dairy.  At 4:00 a.m. the milkers come to work to start the day.  They set up the parlor, the area in the barn where the cows are milked, and bring the cows into a holding pen to wait for their turn to be milked.  And believe me, the cows are very happy to oblige!!  You see, this is the job of a cow.  To go to work every day and deliver their product:  MILK. 
The cows are fed a mixed ration two times a day.  That means all their food is mixed together-and they gobble it up.  Their feed consists of hay and corn and soybeans and minerals and other ingredients that our "Dairy Nutritionist" tells us they should be eating.  He visits our farm usually twice a month and takes samples of the feed, then he knows just the right amounts of what a cow needs to put together for her "menu".  As you can see below, the cows love it!

The cow barns are very comfortable, they offer shelter from the weather such as rain and the hot sun.  They are cooled in the summer by open sides and big fans that keep the air circulating.  Some barns even have cool water misters that spray over the cows several times a day.  They are heated in the winter by closing the sides with covers, or curtains, to keep the cold wind out.  The cows are quite content when the wind is blocked. 

The cows are bedded in sand.  Not just any sand, a very fine sand with few pebbles.  If a cow gets a pebble stuck in her hoof, it is very painful.  We are visited every month by a "hoof trimmer", a person who cares for the feet of animals, specifically cows.  He looks at the cows feet and trims them when neccessary and if any cow has a foot problem, he takes care of it.  We have the sand delivered to the farm and dumped near a cow barn.

So the life of a cow is very comfortable.  She is protected from the elements and anything that might harm her.  She is taken care of every day with fresh water and feed.  Each cow is important to us and we take care of them, just as you take care of your own children.  We care about the health, safety and wellbeing of all the animals at our farm.  And we care about you, the consumer.  Thanks for learning a little more about cows today. 

Until next time,

Drink lots of cold milk and Go Dairy!